


Wings

by twdeadfanfic



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post Season 9, Season 9
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 04:37:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19418635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twdeadfanfic/pseuds/twdeadfanfic
Summary: Little one-shot, set after season 9, Daryl’s vest is more than damaged, one of the wings torn and the other missing…and Y/N doesn’t like it, doesn’t like it at all…she wants to give the guardian angel his wings back.





	Wings

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little thing that came to my mind and I really felt like writing, I hope you’ll enjoy it.

You made sure there was enough wood inside the chimney so the fire would keep going for a couple of hours and you got up, clutching the blanket around your shoulders as you went to look through the window. After being back in Alexandria for some weeks, the snow storms were finally becoming sparser and less strong, though everything was covered in snow still. Luckily, you all had finally managed to get the fireplaces of almost every other house working. Eugine was also working on getting going some electric heaters, but that wasn’t finished yet.

Through the window you could see Daryl outside, carrying logs to the storeroom to make sure you all had enough for the week. He stopped next to the kids, who were making a snowman, and gave them two sticks he seemed to have collected too, so they could use them as the arms. A silly smile spread through your face. The Alexandria kids adored Daryl, and he was so good with them, you knew he loved kids.

You watched him as he went to the storeroom, and soon later he was making his way back home. You shared a house with him and Carol, and you loved it, you felt like in the old times, back home with them. You wished you all hadn’t had to go through all the pain, grieve and loss to have that again, but you were grateful anyway. Lydia was also sharing the house, slowly getting used to living in it and having her own room, though you knew there was still a long way to go for the poor girl.

Daryl hadn’t said anything, but you were sure he’d taken her under his wing, almost as her own. You thought having Daryl would be good for Lydia, but you were sure too that taking care of her would be also good for Daryl. Maybe it could help him heal, after all his heartbreak, and he could help the girl heal after all her abuse too. They were kind of alike, those two, and you even though they looked a bit alike too, or maybe it was in your head, but if Daryl had come one day saying that Lydia was actually his blood, you probably would have believed it.

It just felt natural, seeing Daryl step into kind of a fatherly role, after you’d seen him being so good with kids for so long now, always the doting uncle, doing everything he could to help Rick and Michonne’s kids, or just any kid. You thought it was like second nature for him. Every time you saw him with the kids, playing with them, teaching Lydia and Judith to track and whatnot, helping Gracie to make birdfeeders, anything at all, you were filled with warm and fuzzy feelings that you didn’t know what to do with. You couldn’t help it.

It took you back to the good old days at the prison, the place that in your heart was still your home, where you’d had time to relax and enjoy the life that you had now, having the chance to spend more time with Daryl without having to worry about walkers, to get to know him better, and to kind of end up with a crush on him that you buried as much as you could.

So much had happened since them…

The front door opened and Daryl walked in. He spotted you sat down on the windowsill and nodded to you, giving you a half smile, before going to drop some logs next to the fireplace. He took off the poncho he was wearing, slightly wet with melted snow, hanging it on a chair in front of the fire, and then he went to sit down next to you.

“Snow and ice are starting to melt, once it stops snowing we’ll can go on runs and to the Hilltop more easily.”

“That’s good,” you nodded and smiled. For now, you were good enough on supplies, but it’d be better when you could go back out on runs and Daryl could hunt more easily, and crops would start hopefully growing again. Daryl nodded and turned to look out of the window. Aaron had shown up and was helping the kids with the snowman. “You don’t wanna go out and play too?” You half teased. Daryl scoffed but he had that lovely fond smile he always had when he looked at the kids. You loved it.

Your gaze shifted towards the poncho he’d been wearing since the cold settled in. It was beautiful, you liked the colorm and the material was soft and warm, it looked great on Daryl, but you missed his winged leather vest. You’d loved that thing since forever, and it was strange not to see Daryl on it. That vest and the wings were just kind of…him. At least for you. But lately he’d been leaving it in his room, opting for wearing a warm jacket and the poncho over it. You hoped that when spring came, so would Daryl’s vest.

You’d been appalled to see the state in which Daryl’s vest was the last time you saw it. One of his wings had fallen and the other was in a pretty rough condition too. You hated it. You knew it was silly, but for you, it was as if Daryl lost something of him, as if all the loss, mourn, pain and heartbreak he’d been forced to endure through time had finally broken his wings and his spirit. Daryl was doing better, you knew, smiling more often, recovering slowly, but still…you wanted to give him his wings back, since you couldn’t give him back anything else of all he had lost. You’d been thinking about it for a while, but you weren’t sure if you’d be able to, and neither did you know if Daryl’d like it.

Daryl squeezing your shoulder softly took you out of your thoughts. “I’m gonna head out to Michonne’s, get her some wood, see if she needs something.”

“Okay.”

Daryl left and you were left alone in the house…maybe now it could be a good moment to actually start with your plan.

You headed to Daryl’s room, you knew where to look for his vest, and once you got it you went to your room, closing the door behind you in case any of the others arrived home. You took out of the closet a slightly too big for you jacket which had been white once but now not so much. It’d be good enough and white enough for what you wanted it, though, and the material was sturdier than any other white disposable fabric you’d come across in Alexandria. Then you also took a black marker, scissors, thread and needled that you’d been keeping for the occasion.

At first, you tried to use the remaining wing to copy a new one in your old jacket, but it was so damaged that you could barely use it, having to do most of the wing outline and drawing by memory. You hoped it was good… It took you quite a while, as you wanted it to be as perfect as you could, and once you finished, you cut it carefully and sewed it to the back of Daryl’s vest.

Once it was done, you held the vest in front of you…the wing looked beautiful enough, though it was a stark contrast with the other one, so torn, but you didn’t want to remove that original wing, much less without Daryl knowing it. You were more than nervous about what he was going to think of the new wing…if he didn’t like it, then you guessed you could always unsew it…you just hoped Daryl wouldn’t be annoyed about it.

You left the vest on the back of a chair in Daryl’s room, and then you went back to yours. You didn’t feel like seeing the others, in case you gave it away before Daryl saw it, and instead, you settled down under your blanket to read a book.

Eventually, you heard Daryl walking into his room, and soon he was walking out. He didn’t head to your room, though, instead you heard him walking downstairs. You were sure he must have noticed the vest, and you were dying to know what he thought, but you didn’t dare to go and ask. After a while, you heard footsteps walking up the stairs again, and then a knock on your door.

“Come in.”

The door opened and Daryl walked in, holding the vest. “You did this? I thought maybe Carol…she’s always saying how old it is and what not…but she told me she hadn’t…so was it you?” You nodded, putting down your book, but too nervous to look at him. “Why?”

You shrugged. “I’m sorry, I can remove it.”

“Didn’t say that.” Daryl walked to sit down at the end of your bed, keeping the vest over his legs, wings facing up. “Just asked why.”

“Well, that wing fell down…and dunno, just felt like repairing it if I could…” You didn’t know how to put it in words without sounding silly. “Just…always liked the wings in your vest, you know…should have asked so if you’re annoyed I understand and-”

“Why’d I be annoyed?” Daryl cut your ramble.

“Because I took it without saying anything, dunno…”

“To fix it. Thank you, Y/N.” Daryl gave you a genuine smile and you couldn’t help your own at that.

“You like it?” You asked hopefully.

Daryl looked at the vest before looking back at you again and nodding. “Yeah, yeah, thanks.”

That just made you grin wider. This was all you could have hoped for. “I could make the other one too, if you want.” You offered shyly when Daryl ran his fingers over the damaged wing.

“Alright.” Daryl nodded, giving you a half smile.

“I wanted you to have your wings back,” you managed to gather enough courage to speak, even though you knew it sounded stupid. “You need them to keep being a guardian angel.”

“Silly.” Daryl pushed your leg gently at that, but you knew by the fondness on his voice that he didn’t mean anything bad, he just thought you were teasing him.

“That’s what you were for me the first time I saw you…and those wings were the first thing I saw when you saved me…” You said timidly.

Daryl had saved your life the first time you met him. You had been running away from walkers through the woods and you’d run out of ammo with a group of them following you, without having any other weapon. The walkers were closing on you when suddenly someone had run in front of you, someone wearing a leather vest with two angel wings on it, and had put the walkers down by knife. At that very moment, he seemed like very much a saving, guardian angel to you. A kind of brash and kind of harsh guardian angel, you discovered not much later when he talked to you and took you to the Greene’s farm. And slowly, you’d found out Daryl actually had the heart of an angel too.

He’d been taking care of everyone since them, of his family but also saving and helping people he didn’t know. An actual guardian angel. You were glad he allowed you to give him his wings back, and maybe for him it wasn’t important, you didn’t know, but for you, it was.

“So yeah, you’re a guardian angel, you’ve always been, for all of us…so you deserve your wings.” You shrugged shyly. “Anyway…if you leave me the vest I’ll fix you the other one, I’ll give it to you later when it’s done.”

Daryl was silent, keeping his head down so his hair fell over it, but you noticed him stealing a glance to you. Finally, he got up, leaving the vest next to you on the bed.

“Thanks…” He murmured and you were afraid you’d made things awkward, but then you noticed his tiny, lovely smile. You loved it when he smiled, even if it was small.

Daryl turned away as if to leave, but then he turned back towards you, seeming hesitant, until he bent down to press a soft kiss to your cheek that had your heart speeding up like crazy. Without a word, Daryl rushed away from the room, closing the door behind him.

You stroke the cheek he’d just kissed, a big, silly grin on your face, you couldn’t help it, same that you couldn’t help the way in which your heart fluttered and butterflies twirled in your belly. Still grinning, you took Daryl’s guardian angel vest and began working on it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! If you have a moment, please let me know your thoughts about this little thing!
> 
> Also, on Monday we go back to prison era with my new mini-series, “Silent, fast and lethal”.


End file.
